Most tourism business owners begin with a spark: an impressive view you never get sick of, a rustic old cottage, a farm gate, or a story that makes people feel something. Marketing is rarely the reason you start. Passion is.
But passion alone does not always translate into bookings. You create the experience, you put it out into the world, you share it online, and then you realise something important. Even the best tourism product is not for everyone. It is for the right people, and your job is to know exactly who they are.
Who are the right people?
Well, it is not everyone, that is for sure. Everyone is just too broad, and the problem with broad marketing is that it usually ends up being expensive. You end up trying to appeal to everyone and connecting deeply with no one.
Once you accept that ‘everyone’ is not the answer, the next step is getting specific and finding the your right people. Not in a fluffy, vague way like ‘couples’ or ‘families’, but in a practical way that helps you make decisions: what kind of traveller are you best suited to, what are they actually looking for, and what would make them choose you over the ten other options they saw in the same scroll.
That is where the idea of tourism target markets comes in, and it is far more useful (and far more cost-effective) than most people realise.
Tourism Target Markets: What it really means in tourism
In simple terms:
- Target market = the broader group you are trying to attract (for example, ‘self-drive couples from Melbourne who value nature, local food and comfort’).
- Target audience = the specific slice you are speaking to in a campaign (for example, ‘Melbourne couples aged 35–55 planning an autumn long weekend’).
- Segments = groups of travellers with shared behaviours, motivations or needs (for example, premium travellers, long-stay travellers, working holiday makers).
Tourism is different to many other industries because travellers can be grouped in multiple ways at once, including:
- Purpose of travel (holiday, visiting friends and relatives, business events)
- Trip style (self-drive, guided, family, solo)
- Value and yield (budget, mid-range, premium)
- Length of stay (short break vs extended stay)
- Motivations (nature, food and wine, culture, adventure, wellbeing)
Why Tourism Target Markets matter for bookings
When you get clear on your tourism target market, everything gets easier.
Your marketing becomes more efficient: You stop trying to sell your experience to people who were never going to buy it. You write better ads, choose smarter channels, and make your budget work harder.
Your product becomes easier to package and price: Target markets have expectations. If you are aiming at a premium traveller, you will think differently about inclusions, photography, language, and pricing.
Tourism Australia’s Future of Demand research is designed precisely for this: to help the industry understand where demand exists and how to maximise opportunities across different audiences and experiences.
You attract better-fit guests: Right guest, right expectations, better reviews. And in tourism, social proof is currency.
You get a clearer path to partnerships: Knowing your target market helps you align with the right distributors, trade partners, and collaborators. Tourism Australia also provides trade-focused guidance on why knowing buyer markets matters.
Tourism Target Markets in Australia: What Tourism Australia data to use
Tourism Australia’s Future of Demand consumer research covers a wide set of experiences across multiple international markets. It identifies four target audiences (including Premium and Working Holiday Makers), with additional deep dives such as sustainable travel, Indigenous insights, and accessible travel.
How to use it:
- Identify which experiences align most strongly with your product (nature, wildlife, food and drink, Indigenous, wellbeing, and more).
- Check which audiences are most likely to want what you offer.
- Use the language and “hooks” that map to those motivations in your website copy and campaigns.
How to define Tourism Target Markets: A practical 6-step process
Step 1: Start with your best guests, not a blank page
Pull a quick snapshot of:
- Your top 20 bookings
- Your favourite guests (the ones who “got it” and left great reviews)
- Your highest-value stays or tours
Then look for patterns:
- Where did they come from?
- How long did they stay?
- What did they book, and what did they add on?
- What language do they use in reviews?
Step 2: Define the ‘job to be done’
People do not buy accommodation. They buy a feeling and a result.
Examples:
- We want to switch off and reconnect.
- We want to experience something we cannot do at home.
- We want an easy, reliable family break.
Write the top one or two pain points your product solves.
Step 3: Choose your primary market first (domestic, intrastate, interstate, international)
Many Australian operators market internationally too early. International can be brilliant, but it usually requires:
- The right distribution pathways
- Enough margin for commission
- Consistent product delivery and imagery
- Clear seasonality and availability
A helpful approach is:
- Local and intrastate drive markets (quick wins, easier repeat)
- Interstate (bigger spend, longer stays, higher planning)
- International (higher complexity, potentially higher yield)
Step 4: Segment by motivation, not just demographics
Demographics are useful. Motivation is what makes your marketing convert.
Write three to five motivations that match your offer, such as:
- Nature and wildlife immersion
- Food and wine discovery
- Culture and heritage
- Adventure and challenge
- Wellbeing and slow travel
- Meaningful connection (people, place, story)
Step 5: Write a target market sentence you can actually use
Use this template:
We help [traveller type] from [origin] who want [motivations/jobs] by offering [your experience] so they can [result/feeling].
Example:
“We help Melbourne couples who want a slow, nature-based reset by offering off-grid stays with local produce and stargazing so they can properly switch off and reconnect.”
This becomes the backbone of:
- Your homepage hero
- Your ad targeting
- Your brochure wording
- Your Online Travel Agency (OTA) listing language
- Your email subject lines
Step 6: Pick one primary and one secondary target market
This is where most people wobble, but it is the secret sauce.
Primary = who you build your marketing around
Secondary = who you welcome and can still convert, without diluting your messaging
Your business can serve multiple markets, but your marketing needs a clear “hero” audience.
Tourism Target Markets: Tips to tighten your targeting fast
- Use your reviews like gold. Pull the exact phrases guests use and reuse them in headings and captions.
- Build packages around motivations. Winter reset, Long lunch and local wine, Stargazing and stories, Family-friendly farm stay.
- Create one landing page per priority audience. One for couples, one for families, one for long-stay, one for premium, and so on.
- Align imagery to your target market. If you want to attract premium travellers, your visuals need to convey comfort, detail, and polish.
- If you want to do international trade, learn the buyer market expectations. Tourism Australia’s trade resources reinforce the importance of market knowledge when working internationally.
Final thought: Tourism target markets are a choice, not a guess
Understanding tourism target markets is not about limiting your business. It is about choosing who you want to attract more of, then building marketing that feels like it is speaking directly to them.
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